Here are some items about FirstNet that you may not have known before IWCE 2016

Opt-out decisions, legal challenges could impact FirstNet’s deployment timeline. In its RFP, FirstNet establishes an aggressive deployment timeline, with 60% of the Band 14 coverage scheduled to be finished two years after the award of the contract—in November 2018, if the award is made in this November, as proposed.

But this timetable will be very different for an opt-out state, which likely will result in a deployment delay of at least two years, FirstNet officials said during IWCE sessions.

In addition, statements at the FirstNet board’s March meeting and at IWCE note the possibility that deployment efforts could be delayed by challenges to the FirstNet effort. These challenges could come in two forms: (1) a challenge to the RFP award by a losing bidder, or (2) a legal challenge, such as a state asking a court to rule whether opt-out states have the right to keep revenues generated within the state, instead of having to share “excess” revenues with FirstNet.

This is not really a new development; in fact, the notion that some companies might want to protest the RFP award has been a source of speculation from the earliest days of FirstNet. However, now that a FirstNet RFP actually exists, the issues seem much more relevant.

By no means is this a comprehensive list of everything unveiled about FirstNet at IWCE 2016; some other information—as well as new questions raised during the show—will be shared in future stories and columns. But even this small sampling is an indication that there is a lot to consider in the FirstNet initiative. For those making key policy decisions regarding the proposed public-safety network, it is important that they continue to monitor the situation closely, so they can make the most-informed choice possible.